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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. object — a thing
  3. object — to protest
  4. tear — from crying
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. object — an aim
  8. tear — to rip
  9. snap — to click
  10. roll — a list
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — clever
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. tear — from crying
  21. capital — a city
  22. roll — a cake
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. capital — money

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com